A science story of beauty and the Beast
by the21digdig
Summary: Andrea comes to the castle hoping to find a scientific cure for the Beast's curse. King Richard, struck by the curse, is really nice. But she dosen't want to marry him! She wants to cure him! She dosen't trust in love anymore. Can he change her mind?
1. Chapter 1

Andrea's story

Chapter 1: Meeting the Beast

Andrea's heart thundered in her chest as she faced the magnificent Beast, king of Atlantis.

As legends claimed, he had a great mane, like a lions, and he stood an impressive eight feet tall, his great black mane of hair impressive. His talons- black as night and as long as knives shot in and out of his hands. He looked at her once, a look of slight curiosity and overall disinterest, like she was a course of unappetizing dinner.

"Yes?" The great Beast asked, standing up. His crown didn't sit well on his head- it interfered with his horns.

She must be crazy. Andrea swallowed hard and bowed low before her king as she asked the stupidest question of her life. "Can I experiment on you, your majesty?"

"What?" Roared the Beast once known as King Richard, second in line to get the now famous curse of the Beast. He had been suffering from this curse for over a year, looking for a maiden willing to fall in love with his Beastly self and break the curse. Many had come trying to fall in love with him to become queen, but so far none had succeeded. "You want to what?"

Andrea swallowed hard. She felt fear rising up, but swallowed it back down as she faced the Beast. She knew he wasn't a Beast on the inside, as did everyone. The curse had worked differently this time, only affecting the king himself, and not the palace or the kingdom. But that didn't mean he wasn't a king, and could very well send her to jail for suggesting that she, a student, come and experiment on him, the king.

"I want to experiment on you, your majesty. I believe I can find a cure for your curse through science, and I wish to be able to do so. Besides," She added boldy, "You don't seem to be having much luck through normal means."

He narrowed his eyes. "You are suggesting turning me into a common lab rat."

"No." I wish I could do that. She thought, thinking wistfully of the things she could do to him if he was a common lab rat. "I would do this only with your co=operation, sire. Every step of the way would be with your agreement. We could find a way to cure this without you needing to marry someone."

"I wouldn't need to get married?" He rubbed his great mane with one hand, thankfully, there weren't any talons on them. His sharp black eyes grew thoughtful, and dare she say it? Hopeful perhaps too. "And you aren't here to try to win my heart? You are of a marriable age."

Andrea laughed. The idea of getting married seemed ridicouls. She was only eighteen, and she had no plans of getting married- ever. Besides, her father had been in love, and now look at him. A broken, sniveling slip of a person who couldn't get up if his life was on the line.

Even though people did say she was getting to be beautiful, with her ice blue eyes and blond hair, not to mention interesting enough curves, she was already married to science. She loved to way science and magic worked together, and it fascinated her.

Even though she had no magic of her own, so she couldn't do potions, she was determined to succeed in science. And her latest idea had haunted her for an entire year: To cure the Beast's curse, but through science! With magic mixed in, of course, but still!

If the effects of true love could be mixed into a bottle… of course such a thing would interest her! Andrea had been thinking of ways to cure the king for months, and now that she had finally come, she was ready to begin. IF he would only let her.

"NO, I have no plans to get married." She wanted to laugh again at the idea, but the way the Beast had looked sad stopped her. Did King Richard, trapped inside the Beast's body, really want to get married? Perhaps some of the reason he was still a Beast was his own fault. Well, if it was, all the better she was trying to find a cure. "And I don't think you want to get married, either. If I find a cure, you won't be as pressured to get married. You will be human again. And I will have finally solved the mystery."

"So you want fame and fortune that you will get by solving the mystery of the curse of the Beast." The king sat down again, leaning back on his throne. "ISn't it easier to get fame and fortune by becoming the next queen?"

"Your majesty, marrigge… is not something I can see myself doing. Not now, not ever. I don't believe in love. MY mother, she abandonded my father when I was young, and he never recovered." Andrea bit the inside of her cheek to wash away the sting of pain she still felt at the betrayal of her mother, and what was left of her father. She still remembered, as a little girl, going out of her room to see her father crying, unable to piece himself back together. She was never going to let that happen to her.

The Beast grinned, his fangs white against the stark blackness of his coat. He looked amused. "I'm not offering to marry you. I have no interest in women who are more interested in science than ruling a kingdom. I'm just trying to figure you out. I don't want to try to find a cure with you only to have you declare your love for me with the crown in your sight."

Andrea pursed her lips. She was insulted, but she could see the King's reasoning. He had probably met many women who came to meet him because of his crown. "Your majesty, I am a scientist. You have my word I am not interested in any romance. I just want to undo the curse using science and magic mixed together. I believe I can do so, and I have many notes on the matter." She pulled out her tattered notebook, which contained many of her notes and theories. "MY father is- well was- a scientist, and I learned a lot of what I know from him. I would not dishonor his work by reaching for a crown when all I want is to cure you."

The King took the journal, his claws shot inward as he carefully turned the pages, looking at her diagrams. She had been researching the curse for months, and Andrea believed she now had a significant amount of data to begin. _Please believe me._ She begged silently, watching the king. His gaze was unreadable. _I truly want to figure out this, not for fame or fortune._

The king handed her the journal back carefully, and their hands, well, her hands and his paw, touched for a moment. His fur was silky, very soft. Yet she sensed he could rip apart men with the strength bestowed upon him from the Gods.

"These calculations are very good. But they need more than a touch of magic. Do you have a significant amount of magic?" He raised his eyebrows as if he doubted it.

Andrea bowed her head in shame. "I have no magic at all, your majesty. But I heard you have a great deal of it. Perhaps we could use your magic." She held her breath, knowing she was pushing it. But she had to try.

"Fine. You will create the calculations and do your science thing, and I will be your test subject and use my magic. Anything to get me out of marrying some of those horrible women here. One tried to get me to kiss her when we met!" He shuddered, and she remembered that he was just barley twenty. Barley a man, and already expected to marry. Poor guy.

Her body moved of its own accord as she reached out and patted one of his great black paws. "Don't worry." She met his gaze, seeing his shock and feeling shocked herself. "I promise you won't have to marry anyone. I'll set you free."

Andrea blushed and moved back, unsure of what inspired that reckless behavior. The king also seemed shocked, but his eyes crinkled at the corners, almost as if he were… grateful? He nodded at her. "I'll hold you to that, Andrea Bennes."

Andrea swallowed hard as she bowed and left the king's room, to be escorted to her new chambers. What had she just promised? And what horrors awaited her if she couldn't fulfill that promise? Those thoughts kept her up all night.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A small clearing

He next morning, servants brought Andrea a hearty breakfast, more than she could eat, to her room. She ate it and went downstairs, keeping her notebook with her. She had no idea where the King was, and she wanted to begin experimenting on him immediately.

She needed a lab, and the ingredients. She also needed samples of his skin and claws. And later on, his magic touch to give it a finale.

So Andrea spent half the morning looking for the king. Nobody knew where he was, and most people suspected he was out wooing yet another women. She felt a flash of sympathy for him at that sentence, but seeing some of the women prancing around in their finest, hoping for a glance at the king, she felt a bit annoyed and began rethinking her earlier thoughts. If he was too busy to help her try and find a cure, then maybe he really _did_ only want to wait for the prettiest, sexiest person to marry.

Well, fine. That was his choice. But he shouldn't make her except that he was willing to help her then. It's cruel to lie to someone and get there hopes up like that. For a second, yesterday, she had thought he was actually decent. Apparently she had been wrong.

Fuming, she walked out into the woods, hoping to clear her mind. There were woods near her hometown, in Meldon. She had always loved going in there, and had even built a tree fort/science lab for her experiments when she was ten. Her father had helped her build it, and it was one of her best memories with him.

It had been one of his good days. Andrea hummed to herself as she walked into the woods, reaching a clearing, lost in memory. Back when she had been a child, after her mom left. Her father has had his good days and bad days, sometimes more bad than good. On his good days, he was a bright, smart middle aged man, always willing to help his only child. On his bad days, he was crying for his ex-wife, never even noticing he still had a child. She had often gone over to the neighbors on those days, both for food and company.

The sound of rushing water brought her out of memory lane. Andrea looked up, surprised to find herself in a beautiful clearing, with a small waterfall and a small pond. A circle of grass would make this an incredibly romantic lace for lovers, mostly at night, when the moon came out. Now, in the morning, it was still magical, with the birds swooping around the branches, and a deer drinking from the pond.

And the only thing that ruined the magical picture was the Beast, or the King, sitting near the stream, his head bowed like a beaten animal.

It was amazing. In the legends, animals were too afraid of the Beast to go near him. Did they know, like she did, that he had a human heart beating inside his chest? She recalled last night and sighed. A rotten human heart, perhaps, but still.

"Your majesty." She approached the king, not sure how to treat him. He had been kind enough to her yesterday, but she had been searching for him most of the morning, and she did deserve some kind of explanation. NO one knew where he went. But still, he was the king, and did she have the right to give him the scolding she wanted to?

"How did you find me, Andrea?" He looked up, and she saw that his muzzle was wet. He had been drinking from the stream. She found the thought funny, for some reason.

"I came here mad at you." Andrea replied honestly, somehow sensing it would be best not to lie. "I was mad that you left me with no way to work, and no way to contact you. I can't work without a lab, you know. And I saw all the women here. Do you truly have no intention of marrying any of them? Surly they are not so horrible. Surely-" He shot her a look, and she shut up.

He sighed, like a king forced to bear the world on his back. "They come here with a crown in their mind. I have no intention to marry someone like that. Someday, I will marry, I have to bear sons and daughters, but when that happens, I will marry someone who cares for the person under the crown."

"So you come here to run away from them." She looked around the clearing, inally understanding. "But how did you sneak away from the palace? You're not so easy to miss."

The Beast chuckled, the sound roaring through the trees. "I snuck away. There are many secret passages through the palace, and one of them leads here." He pointed with a claw to a large stone, teller even than him, at the back of the waterfall. "That opens up to a doorway."

"Amazing." Andrea went over to look at it, her mind already whirling at the combination of magic and science, her favorite kind. She ran a hand among the wet stone, trying to figure out how it opened. She could see no hidden panel, no secret button. So magic, then.

"It only opens for the royal family." He stood over her, and she suddenly couldn't breathe, because he was almost pressing her against the stone. Andrea didn't dare move, because even though she wasn't afraid of him, for some reason, her heart couldn't stop pounding. The Beast pressed his hand against the rock, and it slid open with a groan and pa puff of dust and cobwebs. Andrea almost fell inside in her hurry to get away from him.

"Careful!" The Beast caught her as she tipped inside the passageway, his furry paw pushing her back into the light. He let go of her once she was on solid ground again. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." Andrea couldn't look him in the eyes, she felt a blush creep up her cheeks. What was wrong with her? "I should go. But I came to say I need a lab in which to work my calculations and create potions. And I should probably have access to the royal library. That should give me more information about the curse."

He knew she was trying to change the subject, but he let it go. "Alright. I will see it done. I will also give you my phone numbe3r, so you will have the ability to contact me anytime you wish."

Andrea took a deep breath, steadying her racing heart. "Thank you. I truly wish to find a cure."

His voice was sad for some reason. "I know. And I have no doubt you will."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Trial and error

Disclaimer: I am a fanfic writer. This is not original.

King Richard sat on a throne, greeting the latest slew of ladies as they came to visit him. This time it was two, only two, women with bright red hair and cheeky smiles. They looked eager, well, all of them always did, as they smiled up at him, slyly proclaiming their love.

The younger one didn't outright say she loved him, and what was her name again? Never mind, he'd forget it anyway. It wasn't important, because they were all the same.

A woman's face drifts to his mind's eye, concerned and eager to experiment on him. Andrea. She was so amusing, and he did hope she would find a cure so the pressure on him to marry would lessen, at least for a while. Now that he was king, he would be expected to marry sooner or later anyway. But it would be nice to be human again.

Did she actually have a chance? He considered this as his court started prancing around, chatting to themselves like a bunch of birds. He sighed, already sensing a coming headache. He should have gone outside again, but he couldn't run away every day. He only let himself escape to palace life once a week, like yesterday.

He couldn't believe she had found him. That small clearing was known only to him and his family. Or perhaps only to him. But he hadn't minded her company, and it had been really interesting near the end when she had begun blushing. Was she actually interested in him? Too bad that she wasn't willing to consider marriage.

She had looked sincere as she told him that she wasn't willing to get married. A shame. Andrea was beautiful, attractive in more ways than one. He might have actually considered trying to use her to break the cure, had she already refused. Still, he could become her friend. What was the harm in that? As long as he didn't fall for her. That would be a grave mistake.

Andrea looked at the King as he inspected her lab, his gaze falling over the organized mess of potion ingredients, lab equipment and more. The calculations of how the magic should be added were on the board, and she hoped it would work. She had done everything, now all she needed was a piece of his talon, and a hint of his magic. Andrea only prayed it would work.

"Are you sure?" King Richard growled as he gathered his magic in one hand.

"I hope." She took a deep breath and put safety googles on as the king aimed his magic into the potion. An explosion sounded, and a puff of hot pink smoke filled the room.

As the smoke cleared, the potion was still standing, now a healthy red. Andrea took it down with tongs, unwilling to touch it. She held it out for her king to drink. "Here. This should work. Or at least make you less Beastly."

The king looked terrified, and he raised his eyebrows. It was a funny picture, and Andrea tried to keep a straight face as she watched him gulp down the potion. He winced. "Cold." He licked his lips, his mouth opening to showcase those huge teeth of his. Did he need all of them? They would be useful for her experiments. But it was probably impolite to ask.

Andrea sighed, a bit disspaionted. But she perked up again as she thought of what the potion might do. Would it cure him?

King Richard started feeling a bit tingly. His body started humming and he felt the magic of the curse envelop him. He felt excitement. This was it!

In a puff of smoke, King Richard shrank one foot. Andrea burst out laughing at the look of surprise on his face, with the hopeful expression still frozen on it.

"Well, there goes try number one. Let's see what I did wrong." She looked at her notes, them hummed to herself as she erased some things and made more notes. "IF you come back here next week, I should have the next batch ready by then. I think the effects of the potion should wear off in about an hour. But-" He shrunk another foot, waving his arms wildly- "I don't know when you'll stop shrinking."

"Did you expect this to happen?" He felt cheated at the sight of her almost laughing face. But she was professional in her lab, and maintained concertation at all times.

"Well, I didn't expect to get it with one shot. But don't worry. We will figure it out soon." As the King left the room, he turned back one last time to apologize for his overreaction. He saw her whipping away a tear that had been flowing down her cheek. Had she been just faking laughter? Was she really sad that the potion didn't work? He caught a glimpse of her heartbroken face as she cleared the whiteboard. Perhaps there was more to this than he knew.

As the days passed, they kept meeting, sometimes in the oddest of places. Andrea was always pleasantly surprised when they met, and could never seem to stop thinking about the sweet king. And Richard? He never stopped bumping into her, on purpose, just so he could see more of her.

They were often talking about all kinds of things, and acting like the best of friends. But both knew that they were something more, although Andrea's shoved the thought deep down whenever it came up in a panic. She never wanted to fall in love, and even though her heart was betraying her, she had to stay true to her promise.


End file.
